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GEN. JACKSON'S 

JSTEGRO SPECULATIONS, 

ASH HI9 

TRAFFIC IN HUMAN FLESS, 

EXAMINED AND ESTABLISHED 

BY 

POSITIVE PROOF. 



%'•) 



^^ 



GEN. JACKSON'S 



rraflfjc in human flesh seems now to be generally condemned by 
•all the civilized nations under the sun. The slave trade, though 
not entirely suppressed, is denounced under heavy penalties by 
most of the christian powers of the world, and its crying Injustice 
acknowledged by all. The buying, selling and transferring slaves 
as merchandize, from one state of this union to another, is pro» 
hibtted under severe penalties by many of ths slave states, while 
the practice, even where toleriited by law, is becoming exceedingly 
odious. The humane slave holder in those states where this spe- 
cies of servitude is recognized under the constitution detests it as 
cruel and subversive of the dearest ties of domestic affection : but the 
non slave holder of the free states, condemns it, as war with human 
rights, republican principles, and every feeling of the human heart. 
What then shall we say of those who follow this ignoble traffic ? 
Are not private citizens, lo say the least, liable to the reproach of 
all good society and of christians, who are giiilly of this odious prac- 
tice ? Such we find to be the light in which those who are termed 
" negro buyers,'''' and " negro sellers,^'' are viewed. If citizens m 
the private walks of life are obnoxious to censure on this account, 
what should be the measure of disapprobation of such conduct in 
those who aspire to high trusts and exalted stations in the govern- 
ment. Generally, what may pass only as a reproach on a private 
citizen, operates in the minds of a virtuous community and a free 
people, as a total disqualification and unfitness for office. 

We have been led to these preliminary remarks by a circam- 
stance growing out of the pending presidential election. 

General Jackson has set up extraordinary claims to the president 
cy ; is a prominent candidate — and stands charged with being guilty 
of the odious practice of " negro trading,''^ and '■'■trafficking in hu' 
man flesh.'^ This charge, if true, we think, ought forever to si- 
lence his claim and pretensions to that high office. This, of itself, 
(if there were not a hundred other good reasons why he ought not to 
be president) should be deemed and taken as conclusive against him 
by the free citizens of America. That this chargeis true, we verily 
believe and aver, and offer the following proof to establish its truth i 

When the subject of General Jackson's " negro trading'^ was 
first mentioned, it was stated there existed a written agreement in 
the General's own hand writing, in his bank book, which had been 
lying in the Nashville Bank for years, which shewed a partnership 
for the purchase and sale of negroes between him and Messrs^ 
Coleman and Green. After the bank book was referred ig as con- 
taining the celebrated instrument of writing. General Jackson had 
it withdrawn from bank and deposited in the hands of the Editor of 
the Nashville Republican, a paper exclusively devoted to his cause. 
The Editor came out with a statement attempting to palliate, and, 
in some respect, to deny the charge as made against his patron j 
and censuring the bank officers for having let the bank book be seen. 
W. Tannehill, Esq. Cashier, and a gentleman of the first standingj 
made the following statement in the " National jBanner" of the 
15th of July last ; 



<' During the last year, a charge of 'negro trading was preferreJ 
against Geo. Jackson in one of the Kentu ky |)apers. This charge, 
the editors of the republican, in their usual temperate style p«o 
nouiiced an infamous falsehood. A few days subsequent to this de- 
nial, I was informed by a gentleman of this place of some circum 
Stances which tended to establish the fact, and a short time after 
whilst looking over some old bank books, which had been lying ir 
the Nashville bank almost unnoticed for twelve or fifteen years, 1 
laid my hands on one belonging to Gen. Jackson, in which his ac- 
count with the bank had been made up and settled, and which hac 
been lelt there before I went into the bank. 1 am not aware tha 
it was left in bank under any other than ordinary circumstances 
that is, for settlement, and after being written up was never calle( 
for. In the first page of this book was a memorandum of the char 
acter alluded to in the Republican, the tenor of which satisfied mi 
of the fact, that the General was concerned with Coleman am 
Green in trading in negroes. This memorandum 1 did " exhibit' 
to dve or six persons, amongst whom was a firm and decided friem 
of Gen. Jackson. The exhibition of this paper or memorandun 
was not made with any design of injuring Gen. Jackson in publl 
estimation, or of producing any effect whatever on the approach 
ing election ; but for the purpose of showing to those few indivi 
duals that the editors of the Republican, in their great zeal toserv 
their friend and patron, had been too hasty in their denial, and th£ 
there were some grounds at least for the charge. If I had intendec 
(as charged by the Republican) to have used this memorandum t 
the prejudice of the General, why did I show it to one of his pai 
ticular friends ? to one with whom he had freely conversed, a shoi 
time before, on the subject of this very charge against him of negr 
trading ? Why did I not furnish it in reply to various letters whic 
had been written me from other states, asking for information o 
this subject ?" 

Dr. Boyd McJVairy, President of the bank, also made a slatemei 
in the same paper, in reply to the imputations of the Republicai 
that he had improperly exhibited Gen. Jackson's Bank book t 
public view. The following extract will shew the nature of Jacl 
son's palliation or defence against this charge : 

" You have been charged — but not by me, for I expressly dis! 
vow any agency in the matter — with having been engaged, in on 
or more instances, in NEGRO TRADING — with having employe 
your capital and credit in the purchase and sale of slaves, for tl 
sakf of pecuniary profit. Is this charge true, or is it not? If 
be true, why do you not magnanimously and heroically admit i 
and defend yourself upon the ground, that the habits prevalent 
the country and the peculiar state of our society, in a coramunit 
where slavery unfortunately exists, justified such speculations 
But I have already said that you are responsible for the statemen 
of fact contained in the article in the Republican of the 11th ins 
and permit me \n tell you, that it was indeed an evil hour for yo 
when you suffered it to be sent forth frem your official press.- 



•ii 



■5 

'ion have there admitted too much, and yet you presumed too much 
upon 'he supposed " profound ignoranee'" of your accusers, 'ind 
the imagined weakness of their proofs. Before you venture again 
to make a public statement on the subject, 1 advise you carefully to 
review all those books and papers, which you have now so snuj^ly 
concealed, but the contents of which m^iy, perhaps, at some future 
day, be made to rise up in judgment against you. But I repeat it, 
you have admitted too much, and I now quote a sentence from thiSy 
your labored defence, as most conclusive against you. 

'On the 18th May, 1811, Joseph Coleman, Horace Green and 
Andrew Jackson entered into articles of agreea>ent with R. Epper- 
son for the purchase of a number of negroes. The terms of pay^ 
ment were, $'^,050 in hand, ^4000 at the expiration of six, and 
<^4,000 more at the expiration of twelve months. — For the payment 
of the two lasr mentioned sums, Coleman, Green, and Jackson, were 
to give their bills on a bouse in Philadelphia, and for further securi- 
ty in case the bills were dishonored, they gave their notes for sim- 
ilar sums, payable in the Bank of Nashville. These are the pro- 
visions of the contract, on which the charge of negro trading has 
been preferred against Gen. Jackson.' 

" Here, sir, is your own confession, and what more is required to 
fix upon you conclusively the correctness of the charge ? It is no 
longer necessary to search for old bank books, or papers, or secret 
memoranda. Here is your own statement published to the world, 
and founded on a copy of the original agreement, deposited with 
your printer?. You did then, in company with two other persons, 
enter into a written agreement for the purchase of negroes, amount- 
ing to ^10,050, and you gave your notes and drew your bills — in 
the name of the firm I suppose, " Coleman, Green, and Jackson" — 
for the payment of the purchase money. It is not pretended that 
these negroes were bought for the permanent use of either of the 
partners. Neither yourself, nor Coleman, nor Green, intended to 
keep them. The avowed object of the purchase was a sale for 
profit. Here then the matter is at rest. You were, according to 
your own admission, concerned in negro trading. You were a 
partner to a contract — a deliberate written contract, — for the pur- 
chase of negroes nmounting to ^10,050, which negroes were bought 
solely for the purpose of being sold again for the sake of profit. 
It surely then is not necessary to argue further on this subject, nor 
to search among old rubbish for private papers to prove the charge. 
You have yourself publicly admitted it. I am not about to enquire 
into the degree of criminality or impropriety, if any, attendant on 
such a transaction. The fact is all I have now to do with. Whether 
it be right or wrong to deal in human flesh with a view to gain, to 
buy up and transport to a distant market, like so many cattle, unfor- 
tunate fellow creatures, wbo happen to be of a different color trom 
ourselves, is a question which 1 leave for every man to settle for 
himself. But that you, Andrew Jackson, were once a partner to 
a speculation of that kind, cannot now be denied, for it has beeni 
admitted by yourself, and is proved by the written contract deposit- 
ed by yoa in the hands of your printers. 



" But ni« *HU said, you were not a principal in tlie speculation-— 
you were only a security. I will presently examine the strength of 
this amusing and shallow apology ; but I must, in the first place, 
express my admiration of the conclusive and able argument by 
wh'ch it is attempted to establish the fuel of your securityship from 
the contract itself. The following is an extract from your defence : 

' The very face of the agreement indeed, would be sufficient to 
convince a man of business of this fact. Gen Jackson was known 
to be a man of property and credit. Green was a young man just 
commencing business, without fortune, and Coleman's circumstan- 
ces any thing but flourishing. If then it had been the understanding 
of the parties, that Gen. Jackson vvas a principal in the transaction, 
wo.ild not his name have been putjirst in the contract ? Would it 
not have been Jackson, Coleman, and Green, instead of Colemnn, 
Gi t-eo, and Jackson ? This consideration of itself is sufficient to 
rebut the supposition, that he was a principal in the transjction.' 

" Whether this argument were original with your amanuensis, or 
were suggested by yourself or some of your council of war, I can- 
not say ; but it is a specimen of logic worthy the brain of a profound 
attorney at law, a judge of the supreme court, senator in congress, 
and aspirant to the presidency! The man, whose name is placed 
l^st in the style of a firm, if he happens to possess more capital or 
credit than the others, is to be regarded as security and not as a 
partner ! ! It would be difficult, 1 imagme, according to this rule, 
to determine whether the 'junior editor,' so called, in your print- 
ing establishment, is really a partner or only a security. Which of 
the ostensible members of that firm has the largest amount, either 
of capital or credit, I at least, am unable to decide. But who does 
not fee! the full force of the argument contained in the above ex- 
tract ? ' Gen Jackson was known to be a man of property and 
credit. Green was a young man just commencing business, without 
fortune, and Coleman's circumstances any thing but flourishing ;' 
therefore, it most conclusively and irresistibly follows, that the two 
last, without money and "without credit, were the principals in the 
transaction, and that the tormer was involving himself — assuming 
responsibilities, and running risks, without the slightest chance or hope 
of profit, merely as security to the triffiing amount of ^ It, 000, for 
a young man 'just commencing business, without fortune,' and for 
a man whose 'circumstances were any thing but flourishing! ! !' 
The irresistible force of this reasoning will not surely be denied by 
any Jacksonite in the land." 

But it remained for Col. Andrew Erwin, of Bedford County, 
Tennessee, who had also been defending himself against some vio- 
lent personal attacks, made from two of Gen. Jackson's presses, to 
probe the subject of negro speculations to the bottom, and exhibit 
full proof of the truth of the icharge. The facts and proof con- 
tained in bis address to Gen. Jackson, have never been refuted, or 
denied. It may be found in the National Banner of August 1st, 
last, and republished throughout the cnion. 



COLONEL ERWIN'S ADDRESS 

To Gen. Jindrew Jackson. 



Sir : 

I have remained silent for some lime, in order to aft'ord you 
an ample opporlunity to display your boasted candor and Scorn for 
concealment, by coming out in your own name, with a full statement 
of facts in r«>lation to your negro speculations. You have not done 
so, but have furnished such of your private papers as suited your 
purpose to the printers of your favorite newspaper, and have per- 
Hiitted to go forth, in that paper, uncontradicted, statements, pro- 
fessedly founded on competent authority, not only of your actions, 
but ot your intentions and desires in relation to your dealing in 
slaves. You have justly been held responsible for those statements, 
inasmuch as they were clearly intended to be regarded by the 
community as your own representation of the case ; and indeed, 
the information could not have been derived from any other source 
but yourself. You cannot now shrink from this responsibility, 
because, although it is not supposed that you wrote the articles 
in question, it is clear you must have furnished the statements 
therein contained, and by permitting them to pass uncontradicted, 
you have given them the sanction of your approbation. To suffer 
them to go forth through the official organ of your party as your 
defence and to remain sub silentia, while you know them to contain 
palpable falsehoods, would be an act of imposition on the public, 
as gross and as outrageous as if they had b»3n issued under your 
own signature. I shall continue to regard them therefore, as com* 
ing from yourself, and shall use them accordingly. You know, 
Sir, that I have not come forward as your voluntary and unprovoked 
accuser. If your too-ready vindicators had permitted me to re- 
main unmolested, I should have pursued my ordinary avocation on 
the farm on which I reside in Bedford county, without interfering 
with you or your ambitious projects ; but i was called forth by a 
slanderous attack upon my own character, and in selt-vindication, 
I felt it due to myself to throw back in the teeth of my accusers 
the charge of negro trading as applicable to you, their leader and 
idol. As an excuse for attacking me, it was falsely asserted that 
l.was the writer of the numbers signed '■A Tennessean,^^ published, 
so much to your annoyance, in the Kentucky Reporter, That 
matter is effectually put at rest, the real author is known, and has 
received as the reward of his presumption, not only the growlinj^ 
of the ' sick lion,' and the ' indignant flashing of his eye,'' but the 
inefficient ravings of his Jackalls, and the still more serioua assaults 
of his subservient bullies. It seems. Sir, from this scandalous 
outrage, that if your are muzzled and pinioned down by the strong 
arm of public opinion, your followers, who partake of the spirit so 
well described by your friend Col. Benton, are not restrained by 
the same power, but are perhaps too ready to resert to the pass- 



a 

ports by which you resolved to secure a free passage by the agency 
bouse of Col, Diasmore for yourselt and yovr negroes. 

Whether this is a specimen of what the people of this nation 
must expect from your elevation to the presidency, I leave to the 
people themselves, after viewing all the outrages on personal liber- 
ty and safety committed by yourself and your followers, impartiall}' 
to decide As it respects the slander upon my character, founded 
on Mr. Wirt's one-sided report, I have only now to say, that it is 
completely refuted, by the certificates given in 1824, by the Jury 
and Bar at Milledgevilie, Georgia, who heard all the evidence and 
arguments in court, in refutation to the facts referred to in that re- 
port. They thoroughly understood the whole matter, and have 
given an impartial opinion, whereas, Mr Wirt's report was found- 
ed on ex parte statements, procured by my bitter political enemies, 
E;iton, Calhoun, and Clarke, and was called up nearly two years 
after all the ostensible objects of government had been accomplished 
(by the removal of General Mitchell,) tor the purpose, as I be- 
lieve, of using it as an electioneering engine against me in this state. 
1 ask only a candid perusal of the statement furnished by me to the 
B-dtimore Marylaoder, and republished, at my request, in the 
Nashville Whig and Banner of the 20th July, in order to satisfy 
every impartial mind of my complete vindication against those ma- 
lignant, unfounded charges of my enemies, around which they have 
rallied for several years, with yeur approbation and advice, as I 
verily believe. I am warranted in saying so, from the free use 
made of it in the press of your for{j.er partner and then devoted 
friend and agent, P. H. Darby, when I was a candidate, with fair 
prospects of success — for Congress. The free circulation your 
influence then gave tliiis unfounded and malignant charge, caused 
me to loose my elections in 1823 and 1825, and I verily believe 
yo'ir minions circulated and vouched for its truth throughout the 
disirict on both occasions. 

And now. Sir, it remains for me to redeem the pledge I have- 
given to the public, to prove you a negro trader, if you dared to 
deny it. I consider the publications of the 30th May and 11th July^ 
in the Republican, as intended to be a flat denial on your part, of the. 
ctinrge, particularly the latter publication— -and both evidently by 
your authority. It is manifest indeed you do not wish it to be be- 
lieved. It has been pronounced by your supporters a calumny 
seriously implicating your character, and has even been called by 
your printers, under the impulse of a too hasty zeal, "an infamo^fc 
falsehood." Yet when a statement is made by those same printers, 
on your own authority, of the circumstances of one transaction of 
the kind, enough — more than enough, is admitted, completely to 
sustain the charge. This has been already shewn in the very con- 
clusive and unanswerable letter of Dr M'Nairy, which neither you 
nor any of your partizans have even attempted to controvert. It is 
remarkable, however, that you did not contrive a story in the first 
instance, which you and your friends could steadily adhere to. 
On the contrary, we find your newspaper giving one account on 
Jhe 30ih of May, and quite a different one on the Uth of July. 



Besides other material variations, it will be seen that the former 
represents the amount of the first payment at ^2000, while the 
latter fixes it at ,^2030. Yet great exultation is expressed, on the 
presumption of the minute accuracy of the latter statement, in the 
idea that the i3um of j^929 45 is not a proportional part of ^2050, 
and consequently could not have been your share of the first pay- 
ment to Epperson. But before I proceed with any further com- 
ments on your own admission, I will lay before you and the public, 
a little evidence on the subject, derived from another source. A 
purchase of negroes is acknowledged to have been made, in 1811, 
by the firm of Coleman Green and Jackson. The members of this 
firm were. Jos. Coleman, Horace Green, and yourself I will. 
In the first place, present you with the statement of your partner, 
Mr. Horace Green, who, you know, was in Nashville a few days 
^ince, and was seen and conversed with by a number of your warm- 
est partizans- Why they did not procure from him an account of 
the tx'ansaction, will be readily seen on the perusal of the following 
letter ; 

Nashville, 13th July, 1828. 

Sir : Your note, inquiring of me information in relation to some 
aegroes in which Gen. Jackson was concerned, I have received; 
Tj give a correct view of the transaction, as I understood it, I 
must connect it with another. In the latter part of the year 1810, 
Capt. Joseph Coleman proposed to me to join him in the purchase 
of some cotton and tobacco of a Mr. Bennet Smith, to which I as- 
sented. He stated to me that Mr. Smith would require security^ 
which he would procure. Some short time after this understand- 
ing with Capt. Coleman, he informed me that Mr. Smith would take 
no other security than Gen. Jackson, and that Gen. Jackson would 
be such, but that he must be placed in ike light of a PARTNER, 
in order that he might have a controUmg power if he thought it 
necessary. The cotton and tobacco were accordingly purchased, 
and taken by me to New-Orleans. I placed them in the hands of 
Gray and Taylor, then commission merchants of that place, for sale, 
as the property of Coleman, Green, k. Jackson. The article of cot- 
ton being somewhat depressed at the time, I was advised by them 
to ship it round to Philadelphia. I left it with them, and instructed 
them to do so for our benefit, and returned to this place. 

After my return in May, 1811, we purchased a number of ne- 
groes of Mr. Apperson, for which we were to pay a part in hand — 
I paid one third, and understood the balance was paid by Captain 
Coleman and Gen. Jackson. The negroes were taken by me to 
Natchez/or sale, and a part of them .sold. In the month of De- 
cember (I think) of the same year, I received letters from Gen. 
Jackson, (which letters are at this time mislaid,) advising me he had 
purchased out Capt. Coleman in both these transactions, and offering 
to sell out to me at cost by securing him, or to buy me out, and re- 
fund to me the advances which I had made. I thought proper to 
sel!.—- la relation to the purchase of the negroes, although I bad no 
^aderstaoding to the effect from either Capt. Coleman of Gen. 






10 

Jackson, I thought >t probable he stood in the savie situation as Id 
the purchase of the cotton and tobacco, from the circumstance, as 
1 then believed, it was his credit that had enabled us to make the 
purchase. < apt. Coleman made the negociation, and I made the 
selection. The negroes were, at the time of the transaction, at 
Capt Coleman's plantation, near this place, and I do not now re- 
collect that he saw them before they descended the nver. I am, 
respectfully. ^' GREEN. 

It seems then from this statement, that a partnership was formed 
in the year 1810 between yourself, Joseph Coleman, and Horace 
Green. You were applied to, in the first place, it is true, to be- 
come a security, but you insisted on being placed in the light of a 
partner. A firm was therefore constituted under the style of 
"Coleman, Green, and Jackson;" and in the spring of 1811. a 
purchase was made by the firm with your assent, (for your print- 
ers admit that the contract with Epperson was signed by yourself, 
as well as by the other partners) for the purchase of negroes to the 
amount of ten thousand dollars. One third of that portion of the 
purchase money which was required in advance, Mr Green ex- 
pressly tells us, was paid by him, and the other two thirds, he un- 
derstood, were paid by Capt. Coleman and Gen. Jackson. Now, 
Sir, let us see what you yourself any, as to the payment of the^-e 
two thirds.— The following is an exact copy of a memorandum, in 
your own hand writing, which, in connexion with the above state- 
ment of Mr. Green, leaves no room for the slightest doubt, as to 
t)ie nature of this transaction. , rt.- u 

"A. Jackson amount o[ proportion of cash for negroes bot. ot Rich- 
ard Epperson, $929 45. J. Coleman is to pay the note in Bank 
for interest on purchase of cotton from B. Smith, for $613 39, and 
the sum of $191, which he is to pay, and the sum of $125 for 
boat makes up his proportion. A. Jackson has paid for Keelboat 
$50. To Capt, Wetherall discount, this 20lh JVov. 1811, on the 
bill remitted W. Jackson & Co. on James Jackson & Co. $14 51 ; 
and also $16 on note endorsed by J. H. Smith— JVo<e— provisions 
furnished cotton boat, 500 lbs. pork, and flower, and meal, in all 

Sftl7 50." 

The above is in your own hand writing— all in one paragraph, 
and could not have been written previous to the 20th of November, 
yet it correctly recites your payment to him of the 21st of May, 
and was my authority for saying it appeared, by your own hand 
writing, that your two proportions of the first payment were 
1858 90 ; and for saying you wrote it six months after the date ot 
the purchase of the negroes, and your first payment to Epperson. 
Now, Sir, I know nothing about the amount of your first payment 
(and never said I did) except trom your own statement above quo- 
ted, and now from the additional statement of Horace Green. But 
it will not do for you to rely upon any private memorandum or 
agreement of your own, in contradiction of these statements, unless 
you candidly develop the whole matter, bring back all your books 
and papers which you have withdrawn from bank with &o much tre- 



u 



of ™„,e others V^'>'^pl7JtZ\^/"VrT"°''- "' •'"" '" 
th»l llie 4929 46 -Moken . f T L ' '""' ''"'" '» ". indeed 

to E,,pe,.l, migh, Ce been <he elT'"''''™''"'"' '^ ^ '>/y°" 

!o ,cU ihe negroes a,cel^!!i j expenses atlend,„K the aifeLt 

^n,.gh,hact: Mi^erbTe'tltlt" S'L^r/'S^'"-^-^^^ 
foil well was paid by vo.i to F, ' -u '''"^^''^ ^'r, jou know 

leged date of tL con^ra'cr^Mfc rh"a;e ofTh '''' ''''' ''' «'" 
above memorandum conclosiv.l/shows Unt cl/' "'^''"''' ^"^ ^^^^ 
sum almost prec^elv eaual R m ^«'eman was to pay q 

.S«1.3 39, ,91 33, Hrfd'fs wehl: he"''"='''''i:^ three L^m' 
's 27 cen(s more than the .^,n ,' d h ''^"^""" /^ ^^29 72, which 
Pa.d a similar amount , and' e e t T^^^ ^''■^^" ''^e^vise 
^^Td, and that the ba lanre ^ 1^. ^'^'"f ''^ ^^'''^ ^^ P^i'l one 

Coleman, and Gen. Jacton ""'^^^^•ood, was paid b^. Capt. 

-'^penses attending the tran Z 't " " ^^P'^'""' ''"^ ^'^« «""dry 
P'ovi«ions, &c. ; !nd this ?s the 17; orol T/'^' P""""^^^^ «''^ ^oal; 
'nemorandum, that ^1«5 offhp Probable, as ,t is stated in the 

f>oat. But it is unnlcCrv foVrr' ^"1 '^ ^'^'^•"^»"' -^« ^or , 
tails of these tran.act.on' ^it is eno ^^'if "^^^^^^^bout the de! 
established as a we.rJrarfJnnf^^ '^''.^*'" ''''« conclusively 

b ridiculous, but ^s^^ ;at:;r thVtr;:?,t ^'^^ '^^^ '^ p-^-*- 

although nothing special was s^id abo'^Mh '"'."' ^"'"'' ^'■'"' ^«^« ^ha 
py uMhe negro VecXro't'cot^:^^^^^^^ 

3ame situation as in the purchase ofnl.;* ^ " f '^""^'"S "*" the 
verv obnous reason, th'a ^t .^ec^ ^^S Tu' f '"'°'" ^^^ '"^^ 
purchase ; and he might have added the .tm ^^^ ^'7^ '° '^^^^ ^he 
Stances, that you signed the contrac a. ! T^ conclusive circum- 
dov^n in cash 'one third part oi the amount ^' """' -""^ "^^*"^">^ P^'«J 
19 perfectly ridiculous, indeed IAZZ' '"^"""' '" advance/ ft 
ot .his transaction by ;epre!en;in, ' '''^^'''*' "'^^' '^^ °'^'"^ 
principal. You paij yo^n oney rlsTj "' ' ^'7"^^ ^"^ '^^t « * 
name to a contract, drew bilTs I^'p nt'"^ ^'"" ^'•^^"' signed your 
"'ards purchased out th^m erest of vo '' T'^ '^'''^'' ^"'^ ^'ter- 
^'ole owner, went to the bl^r coun^rv"' ^fl"T' ^'''"^^ y^^^'^^^ 
to sell them to advantage Z bJoS'n . f'!!^ y««rself unable 
speculation back with /ou passedThf r^^'V^ '^^ «^J^*^*^ «^ yo"r 
and afterwards, no dou^t ^is^poLif th. '"'' '^"''^^ '" *^"^^P^ 
admit you sold the greater pa," of thin/" ''°'' "''''' *''^- ^^ y*'" 
ry to .ay you were not a vo£ iry tent'in H " T ''"" ' P"'^"' 't- 
were a security forsooth In ^K f '"those transactions ? You 

«o improbable'a d abslrd Not'bvv f" r'^'T ^'^ P^«^«« thmg 
concerned in the /ra Ja,'l„ h1 .V "' ^^V^"^'.^*^^ ^^^ ^'^^^If 
<="nt^, aud insisted on bein.' . ul:2lT f^"^ '^ ^« « -"^^e se- 
on nein^ a paiiner! !-~tfaat year credit enabled 



1^ 

the Jirm to muke the purchase, and that he understood, you advanced 
your proportion (one third) of the purchase money. How then do 
you attempt to prove your ridiculous tale ? The only particle of 
proof offered bv you, is an alleged copy of a ineinorunduin of your 
own, by contradicting all your other memoranda, and exhibited only 
to a few of your chosen confidants. If y.^u are so ready to refer to a 
part of ynur documents, why are you not equally ready to expose 
them all ? Wl>y have you not candidly exhibited all your books and 
papers, which c.'onot fail to discover how the transaction really was, 
and boldly called upon friend or foe to come forward and examine 
them 1 VVe should then see -when the payment was made to Epper- 
son, which, I assert, was three days after thp alleged date of your 
agreement. On the contrary you have hurried all your documents 
away to your private desk, where they remain carefully concealed ; 
and in the vain hope of preventing the production of evidence, you 
have taught your printers not only to hint "at the indignant flushing 
of your eye,''"' but to attempt to intimidate peaceable citizens by 
threats, on their part promptly to assail the private character of any 
man, who shall dare to give testimony untavorable to you. What 
confidence then, under such circumstances, can be reposed in this 
alleged memorandum, on the back of your agreement ? — Does it n»t 
rather create suspicions of something worse than has hitherto been 
discovered. But sir, without dwelling longer on this point, I will 
call your attention, and that of the American people, to the following 
letter from a gentleman whose high standing is well known to the 
citizens of Tennessee — a gentleman not only above reproach in pri- 
vate life, but distinguished for his public services in the legislature 
of the state, and the congress of the nation. 

,, , - , „ . LocEELAND, Jane 14, 1828. 

Col. Andrexv Jbrzoin — 

Sir : In answer to your letter, addressed to me, of the 26tb ult. 
making inquiry relative to what knowledge I have respecting Gen. 
Andrew Jackson's buying and selling negroes for profit, and his 
bringing negroes from Natchez — in the year 1811 or 12, I under- 
stood that a Mr. Horace Green, took from Nashville a number of 
negroes to Natchez, for sale, and that those negroes were the pro- 
perty of the late Joseph Coleman, of Nashville, Gen. A. Jackson, and 
said Horace Green, (yet I do not know this of my own knowledge.) 
Some time after, / /icarc/ Gen. Andrew Jackson say he went to Nat- 
chez, or somewhere in that country, and had brought said negroes 
back to Tennessee ; and about that time, a Mr. Dinsmore, the United 
States agent for the Choctaw nation of Indians, was in the habit of 
stopping all persons travelling through said nation with a negro or 
negroes, who had not a passport. The General observed, that he had 
taken no passport, and on the morning he was to pass the agency, 
that/ie armed two of his most resolute negro men, and put them in front 
of his negroes, and gave them orders to FIGHT THEIR WAY, if 
necessary. 

He further observed, that a friend had put into his hand, the night 
before, or that morniDg, a good rifle ; that when he came oppositf: 



13 

to the agency, he directed his negroes to go on to a branch, and eat 
their bieakfast,— thai he rode up to the agencj, where he saw se- 
veral Indian countrymen, inquired of them for Mr Dinsmore. who 
informed him Mr. Dinsmore was not there, or from home. He told 
them to tell Mr. Dinsmore he should have been glad to have seea 
him, but he could not wait, that he was going on home with his ne- 
proes. A fellow named John Amp. whom I raised, and was sold by 
Ihe then Capt. John Brahan to the said Joseph Coleman, was one oi 
the negroes armed and put in front, hs the General then stated. 
The above is a true statement of what 1 heard Gen. Andrew Jacksoa 
say in Nashville, after his return from Natchez. It may not be the 
precise words, but it is the substance, to the best of my own recol- 
lection. 1 am, sir, yours respectfully, 

R. WEAKLEY, 

It seems from this letter, that the purchase from Epperson was 
not the only negro speculation in which your firm was concerned. 
You bought of John Brahan, and probably, if all the transactions 
could be brought to light, of several other persons. But my main 
. object in introducing the above letter, is to show your respect for the 
Jaws and constituted authorities of your country. You even boasted, 
it «eems, of having armed your negro slaves, in order to Jight their 
way, if necessary, rather than to conform to the regulations of gov- 
ernment, and procure and produce a passport for them. This sir, 
is perfectly consistent with your declaration, in your celebrated let- 
ter to G. W. Campbell, about sweeping from the earth the invader 
ot legal rights, and involving Silas Dinsmore in the flames of his agen- 
cy house. Is this a spirit to be patronized and cherished by the 
people of these United States ? Does this not also explain the height 
and depth of your untiring, malignant persecution of myself, who, 
alone, or nearly so, defended my unsuspecting, poor, but honest 
neighbors, against your swindling combination, to deprive them of 
their houses and homes, so fairly and honestly bought and paid for by 
them, as set forth in transcripts from the records by the "Tennessean" 
in his numbers two to seven, each included. Dinsmore was threat- 
ened with consuming tire forgiving you the trouble of obtainino;a 
passport, in strict conformity with the laws of the country, and in the 
faithful execution of the confidence reposed in him by government. 
My crime was of a deeper dye. I deprived you of sweeping three 
or four hundred thousand dollars worth of my neighbors lands into 
your own pocket, (by taking advantage of your own agency, so well 
described in Judge Anderson's letter in the 7th number of the Ten- 
npssean.) for which you had not paid one dollar ; neither had your 
partner, P. H. Darby, who got $5000 of the g 10,000 you so unright- 
eously extorted out of the people, rather than be longer harrassed 
by you and him. You al?o got 6 to $7000 worth of land from me. 
for your individual benefit in said compromise, about which yon 
have been very silent, and are yet, in open violation of that article; 
of compromise— causing five or six of my worthy, but poor neighbors, 
to be harrassed with law suits ; although every iota of the a«reement 
has been coDoplied with on our part. This accounts for the perpe- 



u 

tual torture I have undergone for ten years by your printers, partisans, 
dependaifts and expectan s, anil particularly for rny present persecu- 
tion here and elsewhere, by co-workers in the^re side hnsiness^ 
Eaton and Calhoun, who used Wirt's official characler foryour spe- 
cial benefit, I do not positively say knowingly on his pan Is a man 
to be elevated to the Presidency who will not only resist, hims-elf, 
the constituted authorities of the country, and boast of bis arms as 
his only passports, but will even encourage his negro slaves in rebel- 
lion, and order them to fight their way, and if resisted, to spill ihe 
blood ot respectable freemen, engaged in the discharge of public du- 
ties ! ! ! 

1 will now ask your attention to the following brief extract of a let- 
ter written by you to a gentleman on busmess, (not in bank) and da- 
ted Hermitage, March 20th, 1812. 

" Having to attend Wilson circuit court, it will not be in my power 
to be in Nashville next week. 1 am very much engaged to arrange 
my business, so that I can leave home on the trip with my negroes for 
sale:' 

The letter containing the above sentence is in your own hand writ- 
ing, and is signed . ANDREW JACKSON. 

1 shall not trouble myself to conjecture whether it relates to -ome 
of the same negroes purchased of Epperson, by the firm of Cole- 
man Greeu and Jackson, or whether it refers to another speculation, 
\i is enough to show, at any rate, that you did not hesitate to speak 
freely at that time of your being actually engaged in negro traffic. 
Nor is it necessary to dwell upon a dispute between yourself and Ep- 
person, which was referred to the arbitration of Judge Haywood and 
Judge Overton, respecting a negro fellow you bought for the express 
purpose of selling to Kenner and Henderson, at New Orleans, expect- 
ing to obtain for him the enormous sum of ^2000, provided you 
could procure the certificate of D. Moore, and others, as to his be- 
ing a good black smith. You, no doubt, recollect the circumstan- 
ces of that case, and notwithstanding the reluctance which may be 
felt, to encounter unnecessarily the '■^indignant flashing of your eye^' 
something can be produced in relation to it, in your own hand writ- 
ing likewise, if it should be found expedient to recur again to the 
threadbare topic. 

I have already made this communication so long, that I will only 
trouble you at present with one other little document, relative te 
another instance of negro traffic in which you were concerned. 
The writer of this letter is a respectable citizen of Sumner coun- 
ty, and he is well supported by the records of a controversy about 
this same negro in court, of many years standing, in the name* of 
Jackson and Hutchins vs. Rollings. The following is Mr. Blythe'e 
letter to a friend : 

"Ash Grove, July 20th, 1828. 

Sir: Id reply to your inquiry as to my knowledge of General 
Jackson being concerned in buying and selling slaves, I will briefly 
state, that about the year 1805 or 6, Gen. Jackson and a Mr. Hutch- 
ings, (his nephew by marriage) had a store in Gailatm. About that 
^ime, they purchased of Dr- Rollings ft negro boy, and sent him to the 



15 

bonier country to selL The negro had been previously in the hands 
of Dr. Rollings to cure a sore leg, and was sold by Rollings to them, 
with a knowledge, by both parties, of that fact, as I understood at 
the time. Some time afterwards, I had been up the Ohio, and oh 
my return by the way of Smithland, I came to the place called the 
Horse Ford, below Eddyville, where boats were compelled to stop 
by reason of low water, where I saw the negro above alluded to, in 
a barge, on his return from the lower country, where they had been 
unable to sell him, by reason of his leg breaking out afresh. • When 
the negro came home, he was put under Dr. Ward, and died. — 
Jackson and Hutchings sued Rollings for a fraud in the negro ; the 
suit was pending several years, and finally decided in favor of Rol- 
lings. I was summoned as a witness in the case. 1 have heard that 
there were other slaves purchased by Jackson & Hutchings and sent 
to the lower country for sale ; but it is so long since, that I do not 
now recollect any other particular case than the one named ; and 
this one is impressed on m^ memory from the long and vexatious 
lawsuit to which Dr. Rollings was subjected, and the other facts re- 
lated as above. Respectfully Yours, 

S. K. BLYTHE." 

It will be clearly seen that you have by your manner of treating 
this subject, given it much more consequence than it really deserved. 
You have greatly enhanced the magnitude of your offence against 
the moral sense of the community by the sensitiveness which yoa 
have displayed, by the prevarication, shuffling and misrepresenta- 
tion which have been resorted to, in order to avert from you the 
eliaracter of a negro trader. Bui. Sir, honesty and plain dealing, 
are the best policy. — This course enables men to go ahead fearlessly, 
(even in the face of such enemies as I have to encounter,) who are 
but desperadoes under the discipline of a mob and riot aristocracy, 
a principle never countenanced by a brave man, a moral man, nor 
a man who had any regard for the rights of others, and the mild pre- 
cepts recommended in holy writ. Such men are inoffensive and 
law abiding, and consider themselves accountable to whoever they 
may happen to injure or offend by the laws of their country, of their 
church, or of society, in an open and manlv way, and none other. 
They require no vaults to conceal their crimes on this side of the 
grave, to which we are all on our passage. And suffer me, in re- 
turn for the unauthorized liberties yourself and your weak, inexpe- 
rienced, and deluded young printers here, and your aspiring parti- 
zans of higher pretensions, to whom I have alluded, elsewhere, have 
taken with me, to tell you and them, that every attempt to conceal or 
misrepresent the occurrences with which you are connected, is a 
serious injury to you and your cause. You should show by your 
practice as well as your professions, that you are incapable of 
manoeuvering, to avoid responsibility. 

Witness what has befallen you by denying that you made any ad- 
yances of cash to Richard Epperson, for those negroes, and the in- 
troduction of your own certificate attested J. A. upon your own agree- 
meot to buy niBgroes, which you considered conclusive ; when the 



16 

fact is, it is conclusive against you, as three days after that date, your 
payment to Richard Epperson for ^929 45, which you stated sis 
months after, was made for that express purpose, renders your own 
certificate null and void to all intents and purposes, and places you 
befot'e the American people in a new dress, which I would no£ 
wear for ten times as many bubbles as have been floating about you, 
and the favor of all your aiders and abettors in concealing your 
crimes. 

Now Sir, you ought to have had some knowledge, and certainly 
had, of the brittle glass house in which you live, before you permit- 
ted your responsible editors to throw stones at every window which 
was not thrown open to illumine your path to the presidency. How 
did you expect your declaration of war against me, brought forth by 
your celebrated biographer of Timber-lake memory, was to pass oa 
without an effort on my part to place truth in opposition to falsehood ? 
In that I have succeeded, and I wish never to be put to the trouble 
again. 

I confess your superior skill in blood and carnage, and, when dis- 
played against the enemies of our country, you have always had my 
hearty approbation. Whether the result of fortuitous circumstan- 
ces or of generalship, it has been the same to the country, yet I 
must confess the recital of the slaughter of John Woods (who was 
in your general order accused of previous desertion, which I know 
to be untrue, by the express words of his captain and many other 
raen of first rate character for integrity and truth,) tarnishes your 
military fame in my estimation, very much indeed, and cannot fail 
doing so in that of other*. 

Lastly, I never had a slave brought before me for offending, 
{•gainst wh»m I gave an unmerciful sentence, such as you are said 
to have done at or near your own fire side at the Hermitage of late, 
in the attempt to execute which, it is said your own slave was killed, 
and all hushed up without any proceedings in court against the man, 
who, it is said, in executing your order, or on the way to do it, kill- 
ed sixid slaze. 

Now, Sir, it is possible you ciay have some preparation for wash* 
ing the blood of this human being from the escutcheons of the Her- 
m'tffge, but as there is no bank secret about this matter, and I have 
been -ivritten to ol the subject, and must still presume you above 
coucaalment unless in bank matters, it is quite as important to the 
American people, to know the truth about this affair, as it was that 
Mr. Wiri should be duped into a false report against me, on ex parte 
testimony procured by your wire-workers, Eaton, Calhoun, and 
Clarke, in 13 22, which was proved totally false in the very place 
where all the facte >q the case were known, in 1824, and again 
brought into use against me, when in retirement in 1828, for your 
special benefit and iheiru also, as we ail know you sink or sv.-im to- 
gether on your late violent South Carolina resolutions. It is with 
you to say when this organized persecution against me «hall cea&e. 
I win defend against it until you cause it to cease. You began it 
of choice, if you hav« been benefitted by it, your objec is answered. 

ANDRE ^y ERWIN. 



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